Cheers to the holiday spirit

4 Fort Worth bars shake up the holidays with naughty and nice pop-ups

Fort Worth bars are pouring on the spirit for the holidays in 2021, with four bars hosting temporary installations featuring a Christmas-y theme.

Themed pop-ups have been a local bar trend for a couple of years, but the trend has boomed with Christmas pop-ups (like these four in Dallas). It's no longer enough to do a minty martini, you gotta do a pop-up, and that means holiday decor which can provide a backdrop for photos — or even a rooftop "bubble bar" igloo.

Here are four Fort Worth bars where you can get lit with some souped-up Christmas cheer:

Holly-Daze! by Proper on Magnolia
The locally owned craft cocktail bar has transformed into a holiday haven, inside and out. Find a quiet table inside, underneath the sparkly garlands, trees, and hanging ornaments — or head outside to the recently redone patio (outfitted with festive decor and heaters for chilly December nights).

It'll take a few visits to sip all the way through Proper's newly created Christmas drink menu. Start with a Christmas Vacation (gin, passion fruit, cranberry, lemon, soda); a Holly Jolly Sh%t Show (vodka, pomegranate, lemon, maple, orange, spiced tea); or Milk & Cookies (vodka, caramel, white chcolate, demarara, coffee). Order a round of shots like the Hans Bubby (marula cream, brandy, frangelico, allspice dram). Then finish strong with The 3 Wise Women (rye whiskey, brandy, applejack, 5 spice, ginger, rosemary) or Yippee-Ki-Ay, Mother Plucker... (Christmas whiskey, amaro, orange, clove).

The holiday cocktails come in festive glassware, which is for sale. Need an ugly sweater in a pinch? They're for sale, too.

The pop-up will continue through Christmas Eve, December 24.

Miracle at Nickel City
A nationwide Christmas cocktail tradition has returned to Fort Worth's Nickel City bar in all its festive glory. First started in New York in 2014 by bar owner Greg Boehm, Miracle takes over 100 bars nationwide, unwrapping festive holiday decor and holiday-themed drinks through the end of the year.

Nickel City Fort Worth’s Miracle promises to get Christmas lovers feeling good “from mistletoe to toe” with a sleigh full of holiday drink specials, including the Elfing Around (prosecco, gin, mulled wine reduction, grapefruit shrub, bitters) and updated recipes for drinks such as the Jolly Koala, On Dasher, and SanTaRex. The Yippie Ki Yay Mother F****r — with Appleton Estate Signature Blend Rum, Plantation Xamayca and O.F.T.D., Rhum JM Blanc, purple ube and coconut orgeat, angostura bitters, pineapple, lime, mint, and powdered sugar — will surely make you feel welcome at the party, pal.

Drinks are served in festive holiday glassware, some of which are for sale, and 10 percent of proceeds are donated to the James Beard Foundation’s Open for Good campaign that benefits independent restaurants. The pop-up runs through December 31.

Santa Baby at Landmark Bar & Kitchen
This immersive Christmas pop-up hosted at Landmark Bar & Kitchen in Fort Worth’s West 7th Entertainment District features more than 10,000 square feet of over-the-top Christmas décor, including snow, lights, and more than 40 Santa Clauses.

Admission is free and a portion of the sales up will benefit Toys for Tots. All ages are welcome until 9 pm, and then it's 21 and up until 2 am. The big man himself will be in the building every Thursday-Saturday from 8-11 pm.

Seasonal cocktails include Abuelita's Cocoa (Kahlua, Bailey's, chocolate syrup, heavy cream, spices) and Butterbrew (Smirnoff whipped cream vodka, Butterscotch Schnapp's, horchata liqueur). There are mimosa flights, festive treats, and a s'mores kits, too.

Reservations are recommended for parties larger than six. The pop-up runs through December 29.

Very Merry Elfsmas Christmas pop-up at Curfew Bar
Drawing inspiration from Buddy the Elf, the downtown Fort Worth subterranean bar has decked its halls for the holidays. They're doing drink specials, pizza, and tableside s’mores all month.

Get "elf'd up" on the limited-edition minty, creamy “Let it Snow!” cocktail, frozen hot chocolate, or $5 White Russians. Santa's around occasionally for pictures, too. Pop in for Christmas cheer daily until 2 am, through the end of the month.

Teresa Gubbins and Eric Sandler contributed to this story.

Miracle cocktails are served in festive glassware.

Facebook/Nickel City

Miracle cocktails are served in festive glassware.

cocktails holidays

Cheers News

Point Pub and Grill brings friendly Cheers vibe to north Fort Worth

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Behold the Daddy Mack, from The Point Pub & Grill.

A neighborhood hangout from Oregon is opening in Fort Worth: Called The Point Pub and Grill, it’s a casual bar and restaurant opening in the former Wicked Wing Pub space in north Fort Worth at 5636 N. Tarrant Pkwy., inside Parkwood Plaza, celebrating its grand opening on November 7.

There are no shortage of restaurants called The Point, including two already in the Fort Worth area. However, this one is the Point Pub and Grill, founded by a group of eight friends in Central Point, Oregon in 2013. They opened a second location in Medford, Oregon in 2016. Fort Worth will be the third, and the first outside of Oregon.

It's coming to Fort Worth via franchisee Balasarath Kurapati, a well-traveled tech guy who met the owners at a convention and loved the restaurant's friendly, laid-back spirit. Overseeing the opening is general manager Kris Jara, a congenial host who served in the military before returning to the restaurant industry.

The menu serves a mix of stick-to-your-ribs American, Mexican, and vegan bar fare. There are wings, fried pickles, burgers, salads, jalapeno poppers, and onion rings.

Sandwiches are a tempting collection including a reuben, patty melt, French dip, and Philly cheesteak. They also do mac & cheese, and it appears in an over-the-top sandwich called the Mac Daddy Patty Melt in which a burger is topped with caramelized onions, bacon, BBQ sauce, pepperjack cheese, and mac & cheese on grilled sourdough.

Their adherence to the original recipes included a training session at the original location. “I got sent up to Oregon to go work for about a week for training,” Jara says.

There's also a big nod to vegan and gluten-free diners, with vegan versions of nearly their entire menu including vegan chicken mac & cheese, served with vegan garlic bread; vegan chicken tacos; vegan patty melt; and a vegan Philly cheesesteak. This is something you might expect in Oregon, but they'll be offering it in Fort Worth, too.

"We like to take care of people — it's part of our desire to include and serve everyone," Jara says.

Five desserts include mini fried doughnuts with choice of chocolate, caramel or strawberry dipping sauce; and a unique item called deep fried apples: fresh apple slices that are battered and fried, tossed in cinnamon sugar, and topped with caramel sauce, served with vanilla ice cream.

Prices range from $8 for a half salad to $21.50 for an apple bacon bleu sandwich wrap.

The bar program includes fruity, youthful cocktails like the Wild Raspberry drop with raspberry vodka, and one with lavender and vanilla. Beers are specific to each location with different selections on tap.

"It's a great neighborhood pub and grill," Jara says. "Lots of places like to compare themselves to the TV show Cheers, but we really are like that, except we're above ground and you can see outside. That thing of remembering your name — we strive to make sure that when you come in, even if it's the first time, you feel like you've been here before."

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